NKF is a charitable organisation that provides dialysis treatment and rehabilitation care to kidney failure patients at affordable, subsidised rates. Its philosophy is to care for its patients holistically, aiming to help patients maintain a reasonable quality of life. NKF also provides health-screening and public education services to raise the community’s awareness on the importance of renal disease prevention.

Learning Journey @ NKF - The Objectives

1) Bringing Hope for the Future

 

Singapore’s only resource lies in its citizens, a healthy population is therefore crucial to the continued prosperity and progress of the nation. Participants will learn about the challenges in meeting the increase in kidney failure patients annually. Diabetes and hypertension, the leading causes of kidney failure, account for 7 in 10 cases of kidney failure. The programme aims to promote the concept of holistic health management and healthy living through the prevention and early detection of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and other risk factors related to kidney failure.

2) Becoming a Caring & Compassionate Community

The diagnosis of end-stage renal disease and its treatment is a major turning point in a patient’s life. At this stage, the decision to start dialysis is often accompanied by feelings of fear, ignorance and confusion, not only in the patient but also their families. At this time, education of the disease and its treatment is often not easily understood. As a result, there is very often denial and a consequent delay in dialysis treatment. The medical complications, when dialysis is eventually started urgently, are frequent.

Early education of the functions of the kidney, kidney diseases, and the treatment of renal failure should be instituted for the young people of Singapore, so that the myths and mysteries of these conditions can be clarified at a young age and outside the immediate ambience of a major illness. In the long term, it is hoped that when the young reach adulthood, they would be better informed of kidney diseases and its treatment so that they can help in preventing kidney failure as well as understand and support those who unfortunately do develop kidney failure. 

3) Experiential Learning Beyond the Classroom

An experiential guided tour of NKF’s Kidney Discovery Centre (KDC)* will address concerns about kidney diseases and its treatment and to learn and appreciate the kidney. The KDC, housed at level 2 of the NKF headquarters, has 4 sections with interactive displays. These include, Human Body & Function of Kidneys; Kidney Failure & Prevention of Kidney Diseases; Future Development of Treatment of Kidney Diseases: and History of Dialysis in Singapore (NKF Milestones). * Slated for opening in Jan 2011


Additional Information

For more information and booking enquiries, please contact us at 65062141 (primary schools), 65062272 (secondary schools) or e-mail education@nkfs.org